新概念英语必背优秀文章精读 第13篇 The power of the press

新概念英语必背优秀文章精读第13篇 The power

of the press

请根据中文翻译，看一下下面两个句子能否顺利地填写出来。

原文：

In democratic countries any efforts to restrict the freedom of the Press are rightly condemned.

__________1_______________ Stories about people often attract far more public attention than political events. Though we may enjoy reading about the lives of others, it is extremely doubtful whether we would equally enjoy reading about ourselves. Acting on the contention that facts are sacred, reporters can cause untold suffering to individuals by publishing details about their private lives. Newspapers exert such tremendous influence that they can not only bring about major changes to the lives of ordinary people but can even overthrow a government.

The story of a poor family that acquired fame and fortune overnight, dramatically illustrates the power of the press. The family lived in Aberdeen, a small town of 23, 000 inhabitants in South Dakota.

______________2_______________They were expecting their sixth child and were faced with even more pressing economic problems. If they had only had one more child, the fact would have passed unnoticed. They would have continued to struggle against economic odds and would have lived in obscurity. But they suddenly became the parents of quintuplets, four girls and a boy, an event which radically changed their lives. The

day after the birth of the five children, an aeroplane

arrived in Aberdeen bringing sixty reporters and photographers.

The rise to fame was swift. Television cameras and newspapers carried the news to everyone in the country. Newspapers and magazines offered the family huge sums for the exclusive rights to publish stories and photographs. Gifts poured in not only from unknown people, but from baby food

and soap manufacturers who wished to advertise their products. The old farmhouse the family lived in was to be replaced by a new ＄500, 000 home. Reporters kept pressing for interviews

so lawyers had to be employed to act as spokesmen for the family at press conferences. While the five babies were still quietly sleeping in oxygen tents in a hospital nursery, their parents were paying the price for fame. It would never again

be possible for them to lead normal lives. They had become

the victims of commercialization, for their names had

acquired a market value. Instead of being five new family members, these children had immediately become a commodity.

翻译：

在民主国家里，任何限制新闻自由的企图都理所当然地受到谴责。不过，这种自由很容易被滥用。常人轶事往往比政治事件更能引起公

众注意。我们都喜欢看关于别人生活的报道，但是否同样喜欢看关于

自己生活的报道，就很难说了。记者按事实至上的论点行事，发表相

关别人私生活的细节，有时会给当事人造成极大的痛苦。新闻具有巨

大的威力。它们不但能够给寻常人家的生活带来重大的变化，甚至还

能*一个政府。

下面这户穷人一夜之间出名发财的故事戏剧性地说明了新闻报道

的威力。这户人家住在南达科他州一个人口为23，000的小镇上，镇